Love and Other Natural Disasers - Holly Shumas

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Wednesday, January 27, 2010

From the acclaimed author of A FIELD OF DARKNESS comes another compelling novel featuring the acerbic and memorable voice of ex-debutante Madeline Dare. Madeline Dare has finally escaped rust-belt Syracuse, New York, for the lush Berkshire Mountains in Massachusetts. After her husband's job offer falls through, Maddie signs on as a teacher at the Santangelo Academy, a boarding school for disturbed teenagers. Behind the academy's ornate gates, she discovers a disturbing realm where students and teachers alike must submit to the founder's bizarre therapeutic regimen.

A bit about the Author

Cornelia Read grew up in New York, California, and Hawaii. She describes herself as a reformed debutante who currently lives in Berkeley. This is her second novel. Her website is www.corneliaread.com.

Thanks to Valerie at Hachette Books, I have three copies of this book to offer. Give it a shot and recommend it to your reading group! There is a great reading group guide for this book. It is always a great feature to have for your group reading.

Rules: US/ Canada OnlyWill not ship to P.O. Boxes

For one entry leave a comment with your email address.For two entries leave a comment and follow this blog.For five entries do the above and leave a comment on a reading group. Do you have one? Would you like one? Let's talk about book clubs.

Tuesday, January 26, 2010

Seventeen year old Veronica "Ronnie" Miller's life was turned upside-down when her parents divorced and her father moved from New York City to Wrightsville Beach, North Carolina. Three years later, she remains angry and alienated from her parents, especially her father...until her mother decides it would be in everyone's best interest if she spent the summer in Wilmington with him. Ronnie's father, a former concert pianist and teacher, is living a quiet life in the beach town, immersed in creating a work of art that will become the centerpiece of a local church.

A bit about the author

Nicholas Sparks is the author of 15 books. He lives in North Carolina with his wife and children. You can visit the Author Website

This would be such a great February read for your book club. Check out thereading group guide for the book. It is a great way to stimulate book talk in your club.

Thank you Valerie at Hachette Books! I have three paperback copies to offer!

The rules:US/Canda Only.No P.O. Boxes.Contest ends 2/14/2010

For one entry leave a comment with your email address.For two entries, follow this blog and leave a comment.For Five entries, follow this blog and Tweet about the contest.

I do allow anonymous comments, but please use your real name, with a valid email. I reserve the right to toss out comments.

Monday, January 25, 2010

Psychiatrist Andrew Marlowe has a perfectly ordered life--solitary, perhaps, but full of devotion to his profession and the painting hobby he loves. This order is destroyed when renowned painter Robert Oliver attacks a canvas in the National Gallery of Art and becomes his patient. In response, Marlowe finds himself going beyond his own legal and ethical boundaries to understand the secret that torments this genius, a journey that will lead him into the lives of the women closest to Robert Oliver and toward a tragedy at the heart of French Impressionism.

Ranging from American museums to the coast of Normandy, from the late nineteenth century to the late twentieth, from young love to last love, THE SWAN THIEVES is a story of obsession, the losses of history, and the power of art to preserve human hope.

A bit about the Author

Elizabeth Kostova is the author of the international bestseller The Historian. She graduated from Yale and holds an MFA from the University of Michigan, where she won the Hopwood Award for the Novel-in-Progress.

I have three copies of the unabridged audio to offer. Thank you Anna at Hachette Books.

Rules:US and Canada OnlyWill not ship to P.O. Boxes.

How to Enter:Leave a comment on this blog with your email (It is okay if it is on your profile).Followers of this blog get an extra entry.Tweet about the comment and get five entries.Anonymous comments are allowed but if you'd like a shot at winning please include your real name and email address.

This Giveaway ends on February 13th, 2010. Winners Announced Shortly after.

Selling in Tough Times, Secrets to Selling When No When No One is Buying

About the book

We've all heard it before: when times are tough, go back to the basics. It seems simple, but the reality is that in good times, many of us let some of the most important principles of selling go by the wayside, which leaves us scrambling when a downturn hits. That's why world-renowned sales expert Tom Hopkins is here to remind us that challenges are a constant aspect of selling and that the key to success is to keep your attitude positive and to never stop striving for excellence. What's more, Hopkins distills the four key practices to help you get your creative juices flowing and discover and exploit business opportunities that you may not even know existed, including:Success Is In Who You Know: Effectively working with existing clients to generate new leads for business is crucial.

Reducing Sales Resistance: In tough times, people put off making buying decisions. Help them overcome their fears in order to thrive.

Converting Clients from the Competition: With fewer new business start-ups for you to pursue, you need strategies for getting clients to consider you over their current providers Don't just survive, learn how to thrive by turning your challenges into advantages today.

About the Author

Tom Hopkins is the founder and president of the renowned sales training service Tom Hopkins International. He is a member of the National Speakers Bureau and is the author of the national bestseller How to Master the Art of Selling. Today, over 35,000 corporations and millions of professional salespeople throughout the world utilize his professional sales training materials.

I have five copies to Giveaway Courtesy of Valerie at Hachette. Thank you Valerie.

Details:Leave a comment on this post with your email address, if it is not in your profile. I do allow anonymous comments but please leave a name, and an email. And feel free to comment on the book or my blog.

One entry for one commentTwo entries for a comment if you follow my blogThree entries if you comment, follow, and Tweet about this giveaway.

US and Canada ONLY and the book cannot be shipped to a P.O Box.

You have until February 12th 2010 to leave a comment. Winners announced after that date. Good Luck

Tuesday, January 19, 2010

Paperback: 400 pages

Publisher: Spiegel & Grau (January 12, 2010)

Set in a beautiful but economically devastated Pennsylvania steel town, American Rust is a novel of the lost American dream and the desperation—as well as the acts of friendship, loyalty, and love—that arise from its loss. From local bars to train yards to prison, it is the story of two young men, bound to the town by family, responsibility, inertia, and the beauty around them, who dream of a future beyond the factories and abandoned homes.

Left alone to care for his aging father after his mother commits suicide and his sister escapes to Yale, Isaac English longs for a life beyond his hometown. But when he finally sets out to leave for good, accompanied by his temperamental best friend, former high school football star Billy Poe, they are caught up in a terrible act of violence that changes their lives forever.Evoking John Steinbeck’s novels of restless lives during the Great Depression, American Rusttakes us into the contemporary American heartland at a moment of profound unrest and uncertainty about the future. It is a dark but lucid vision, a moving novel about the bleak realities that battle our desire for transcendence and the power of love and friendship to redeem us.

Philipp Meyer grew up in Baltimore, dropped out of high school, and got his GED when he was sixteen. After spending several years volunteering at a trauma center in downtown Baltimore, he attended Cornell University, where he studied English. Since graduating, Meyer has worked as a derivatives trader at UBS, a construction worker, and an EMT, among other jobs. His writing has been published in McSweeney’s, The Iowa Review, Salon.com, and New Stories from the South. From 2005 to 2008 Meyer was a fellow at the Michener Center for Writers in Austin, Texas. He splits his time between Texas and upstate New York.

A few words from Toni on the book:I want to say that I have read a lot of reviews on this book recently. I read a few reviews on the book before I first started. I have to be honest and say I did not like all this talk of Steinbeck. Comparing the author to Steinbeck to me was annoying to me. It isn't wrong, but I just found it annoying. Quite possibly because East of Eden and Grapes of Wrath are on my top ten favorite books of all time. I was not buying it!

After reading about 100 pages into the book I just had to find more reviews and find out what people were saying about this book! And where the heck was I last year that I didn't get a chance to read this one? When I first started the book I read 30 pages, I remember thinking that this book is going to take me a while to read. I thought this because of the descriptive and detailed writing along with the narrative voice switches.... it switches in the same paragraph with the same character. I was tentative about that at first. The very next time I picked up the book to read, I didn't stop until over 100 pages later. Where did the time go? I was completely absorbed into the book. I had to force the cover shut to get some sleep. The unique and effective narration helped me to get inside each character and reside with the characters. It resonated with me through the night.

I am no longer annoyed with the Steinbeck reference. I tend to agree! The book is contemporary, and has just about every element that I look for in a book. The writing is current and relevant. The characters are as real as everyday. The writing is incredible with a strong and gritty, ominous and human plot. The book grabbed hold of me in a wonderous way.

Writing Sample:"Meanwhile here you are. Temporary visitor on the sun's earth. Think your mother will be here forever and then she's gone. Still sinking in five years later. Disappeared in a day. Same as you will. Nothing you can see that won't outlast you--rocks sky sun. Watch a sunset and feel like you own it but it's been rising without you for a thousand years. No, he thought, more like several billion. Can't even get your head around the real number. You're the only one who even knows you exist. Born and die between the earth's heartbeats."

Prose, I say, prose. Just the way I like it. I just close my eyes after reading that and get that feeling like I am staring at the ocean or a great work of art. Some kind of feeling in between the two views. Prose with every day life and grit right there jumping off the pages at you.AsI was reading the above passage, I was with Isaac. I was with him contemplating life and feeling his life. The same way I was with Adam Trask in Salinas smelling the dusty air in the novel East of Eden. It was the same way that I experienced the same feelings of desperation I felt with "the Fambly" in Grapes of Wrath. I am one hundred percent satisfied that this is another Great American Novel, and I will make a cozy nook on my shelf for this one in my permanent library. It was born to be a classic. It is a little embarrassing when I get this way about a book. I just want to go on and on and on....so I will now I will talk about the giveaway.

I have a lovely copy of this book to offer. It will be sent from the Publisher.

Thank you Lisa from TLC book tours for arranging this tour and giveaway. Thank you Kathleen from Random House for the free copy for review.

Rules of the Giveaway - (How to get entries into a random drawing)

Leave a comment on this post (with your email) and you get a single entry. +1

If you are a follower you get another entry. +2

Blog, Tweet or Announce and you will get another entry. +3

US / Canada Only

This contest ends February 5th, 2010. Winners will be notified shortly after.

Sunday, January 17, 2010

Hello there. Welcome to Mailbox Monday. It is hosted by Marcia at the Printed Page. Check it out here.

This week I received.

At the Threshold of Alchemy, by John Amen. This was part of the poetry package I won at Serena's blog. (click here to see reviews of this book).

It was a quiet week. I didn't post last week as it was quiet also. I am thankful for this. I needed a little break.

***I had to take a week or so off from blogs and blogging. I am marking my reader to zero and starting out fresh this week. (This is part of my no stress, no guilt blogging for 2010). I will be making the rounds to those near and dear and some of the newly discovered blogs over the next week or two. I have a giveaway to announce. Stay tuned. I also have Four giveaways posting soon.

Friday, January 8, 2010

I have more good news for the Little Giant of Aberdeen County, by Tiffany Baker

First off (I know this will make you all happy) I received a beautiful hard copy of the book. So much more lovely than my ARC copy. Since I have read and reviewed it, I am passing this beautiful copy to another lucky reader. So if you didn't win the contest earlier this month, you have another shot.

From January 24th - February 7th, Goodreads members who join the group will be able to ask Tiffany Baker, author of The Little Giant of Aberdeen County, questions about the novel, her writing process, and/or the insanity of trying to write while also mothering three children, and participate in the discussion group together. You can sign up now!

In addition, Hachette will be interviewing Tiffany live on January 27th at 1:30 pm EST at Blogtalk radio.So mark your calendars and feel free to call in and chat with both live.

Tuesday, January 5, 2010

Hi!Just curious if anyone reads or has read Simple Abundance, a Daybook of Comfort and Joy, by Sarah Ban Breathnach?

The book came out in 1995. So it is nothing new. The words seem as applicable today as in any time. It is packed with a daily little something to help those on the journey to find their authentic self. Some days when I read it, it is just what I need. In this busier than ever day and age I find it a comfort to have sensible, poetic and true words to start off or end the day. It is a great way to remind me how to enjoy what I have and find my true self. The self that isn't boggled down in deadlines, bills, job, and other things that only seem to bury "me" deeper. It is a reminder to enjoy the simple things such as a garden, a flower and how to celebrate a simple moment as a much as the grand moment. I haven't read each of the days of the year yet, but I can tell I am going to enjoy it. I am reading along with my book club as a side project and we enjoy sharing it together.

I also got the gratitude journal. I just wanted to post and see what others have to say on the book and other books by the author. I'd love to hear any thoughts on the book. I was able to find my beautiful copy for a dollar at a sale. I ordered the journal online for a few dollars.

I am so pleased to add these books to my poetry collection. I left a few comments on Serena's Virtual Poetry Circle. I was tickled as can be to have won. You should check it out. Sometimes I feel a bit inferior to comment on a poem, but it really is fun and no pressure at all.

From Algonquin Books - A Reliable Wife, by Robert Goolrick. (I started it this weekend... so check back for a review. Don't forget to check out my ARC giveaway)

Saturday, January 2, 2010

Well this review has a long time coming. I enjoyed all of the Twilight books and this one was no exception. I confess to being a pretty big fan. However, this book was very drawn out, slow and really lacked the action of the first two books. Now that I've stated that, I guess I should state why I feel this way.

The first part of the book which I can't reveal without spoiling wasn't enjoyable for me. Blame it on age. I think a young adult might really enjoy it however. I waited too long for those scenes and I feel they were a let down. I know, I know we are keeping in clean for the YA readers, but I felt it was lacking all kinds of steam and emotion. I know that Meyer can write the steam with out the graphic adult detail, but it didn't happen for me in the first part of this book.

Then after that little chunk of the story there was a little predictable plot drama. Still that was okay, but that soon dies at the story gives birth to too much Bella and Jacob narration. Which equated to too much Bella and Jacob whining and moping. Again maybe it is just my old age talkin'. Jacob's dialog was like super teen talk. And of course this should be okay because he is a teen. I am not sure why I found it so annoying. Was it like that in all the books? I can't recall. If you love the characters and you want more Edward, Bella and Jacob in your life, this is going to probably be an great read.

Then for the next 300 or so pages, here was just too much day to day detail and conversation. I grew tired of the banter between the vampires and the wolf tribe annoying. "Vampires smell... Werewolves smell...snarl..curled lip...sneer..." Enough already!

Then a vase drops..... and the book broke open for me. (sorry can't spoil) This is a case where the ending saves the book. The ending is about 150 plus pages long. I feel the last part of the book merits a good rating and I enjoyed it tremendously. I did like the bit of drama leading up to the climatic series end. I really felt that in the last quarter of the book I was back to reading what I enjoyed in the first books.

Okay, so there it is. I love the Cullens and all that glitters in the Twilight world. And I had to know what happens. And when it boils down to it, who can resist true love and the beautiful people and all the cream cheese in the series. I am a wimp when it comes to most spooky, scary, violent or bloody books, so I have to say this was a really good mild paranormal fix for me. I would recommend these books to just about anyone. (13 and older).I will disclose that I read the book in four parts over four months and at the time of writing this review it has been months since I read the first half of the book.

I think the movie version of Breaking Dawn is going to be better than the book. I didn't write a review on the movie New Moon. But I really enjoyed it. I thought it was a fantastic rendition of the book and I was not disappointed.

I'd like to welcome comments on Breaking Dawn. I do allow anonymous comments. On some of my prior Twilight reviews I received disrespectful or goofy comments. I will delete those. But I welcome all view points. Good or Bad.... let's talk about the book. Did you review the book? Please include a link to your review. I'd love to read it.

Please see my sidebar for reviews on Twilight, New Moon, Eclipse, Breaking Dawn and The Host, all books by Stephenie Meyer.

Thanks to my own pocketbook, I treated myself to this lovely book. I have to say the Twilight books are so pretty and hard to resist.

Hello everyone! A lucky reader gets a book because I got an extra book. I got a finished copy of A Reliable Wife, by Robert Goolrick. So I am passing my new, never been read ARC (Advanced Readers Copy) along to a reader.

What do you have to do? Not much! Just leave a comment here on my blog. If your name is not available on your profile or blog, I will need an email address. Leave your email in a "disguised format" such as tonigomez (at) surewest (dot) net.

Anyone in on the planet Earth can enter. This is a one entry per person contest. But I'd love it if you'd follow my blog. Maybe check in from time to time with a comment or two.

I'll need your comments by January 15th, 2010

about A Reliable Wife

Rural Wisconsin, 1909. In the bitter cold, Ralph Truitt, a successful businessman, stands alone on a train platform waiting for the woman who answered his newspaper advertisement for "a reliable wife." But when Catherine Land steps off the train from Chicago, she's not the "simple, honest woman" that Ralph is expecting. She is both complex and devious, haunted by a terrible past and motivated by greed. Her plan is simple: she will win this man's devotion, and then, ever so slowly, she will poison him and leave Wisconsin a wealthy widow. What she has not counted on, though, is that Truitt — a passionate man with his own dark secrets —has plans of his own for his new wife. Isolated on a remote estate and imprisoned by relentless snow, the story of Ralph and Catherine unfolds in unimaginable ways.

With echoes of Wuthering Heights and Rebecca, Robert Goolrick's intoxicating debut novel delivers a classic tale of suspenseful seduction, set in a world that seems to have gone temporarily off its axis.

Thanks to Algonquin Books I received a free review copy. I am passing it along freely also. :)

Please tune in to my blog in 2010 for my thoughts on this book. And Good Luck!

Friday, January 1, 2010

Hello everyone and Happy New Year! I wanted to start the year by doing something that I so love to read on other blogs. I love to read the recaps and the year in review. I have been hesitant to add mine as I fell short by about 20 books. And if you look at my piles you can easily bump that number to 40. I can honestly say that I spent most of my time reading blogs this year and less time reading my books. This book blogging in 2009 was a new time expenditure for me and it cut into my spare time considerably. While I enjoyed the blog reading tremendously, I note that this was not my desired outcome.

So I have a goal this year to get a balance on my blog reading time and my book reading time. And I don't plan on cutting back on my blog reading. Also I did read more books on the list. The list below only includes books reviewed and featured.

I also reviewed a movie or two and shared a poem or two. (click on review to get review, author info, and to see the cover)

I have a few piles of books from publishers to read and review. I do plan read them all. I have started and put down more than a few. Which brings up another entire issue. If I have read part way or half way through a book and put it down and I loose interest, does anyone really want to hear my story about it? At this point, would the publisher be happy that I just move on? So I am working on how to handle books that I didn't finish, or couldn't get into. I might just make a monthly post, "Books I didn't finish or couldn't get into for various reasons." I say I want to write a scathing review some day, and yet do I really?

More thoughts on A Circle of Books in 2009 and 2010.

On Giveaways - I had giveaways every month. I hope to continue with the giveaways. I have had a few little episodes where a winner hasn't received a book and considering the amount of giveaways I held, it was not that bad at all. Just remember to read the details. Most of the giveaways are mailed from the publisher. Sometimes the books arrive in a week or two and other times it takes a while. For those that do enter the giveaways if you keep my original email, it is very helpful in assisting you when this happens. And when you email me to state that you haven't received your book, if you could just include your address again that helps tremendously.

On awards - Thank you for all that bestow those thoughtful and pretty awards. It is great fun. Since I am on a crunch for time sometimes I don't post it or pass along. It sure doesn't mean that I don't appreciate them. Sometimes I just loose track. I am working on finding the balance of being involved in the social aspect more. Don't give up on me. Maybe next year I can get more involved in some of the fun stuff...the meme's, the awards, the exchanges. I hope to do so. On that note I want to add that I was blogging on a pretty slow and old PC, some of my favorite blogs took forever for me to load and reply. I have a new situation and it seems to have rectified my technology handicap.

On Blog Tours - When I first blogged, I did more blog tours. I have to say that I miss the blog tours. I thought that I wanted to branch out more on my own and read my own stuff and that is true, but I would like to go back to doing more blog tours. I love the buzz, the giveaways, the book thought and all that good stuff centered around the blog tours. I hope to do more of them this year.

On that note I think I am about 30% of the way to the goal and vision for this blog. I hope everyone will stay with me for the journey for I am sure it will be a great ride, however long it may take!

Happy New Year!

***edited to note ..I spend the day reading everyone's wrap ups and what not and once again, I spent hours reading and commenting on blogs instead of finishing my books...sigh.... I had such a crappy reading year in hindsight.....